Let Me Walk Next To You
by allwalkfree
Summary: Kise wants to know why everyone finds Akashicchi so scary when the other has always been so kind to him
1. Chapter 1

Kise adored Akashi.

Not because he was amazing at basketball, not because he was a genius, hell not even because he was his captain.

Kise adored Akashi, because the latter was kind to him, and something about the cold genius going out of his way to speak so softly and gently to him made Kise want to stand by his side forever.

The copycat athlete remembers when he first met his captain. Really met him. He was the vice-captain back then, and almost everyone had been terrified of him. Kise had wanted to know why, so after practice he sought him out. Determination gleaming in his eyes.

"Why is everyone so afraid of you?" he had asked bluntly. Standing in front of the shorter boy with arms crossed and the barest hint of a frown adorning his face.

Akashi's bright red eyes had turned away from the water bottle in his hand to fixate on his face.

The vice-captain blinked owlishly at him. "Huh?" he asked. Face still drenched in sweat and chest still heaving slightly from the after effect of the strenuous practice.

"Why is everyone so afraid of you Akashi-kun," he repeated, sauntering closer and leaning down to examine the shorter boy's face as if the secrets of the world were hidden in the depth of his eyes.

Suddenly a hand shot out, grabbing the model's face and squawking his cheeks together. "Personal space Kise," the vice-captain muttered, shaking the blonde's face from side to side.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch," Kise mumbled between Akashi's oppressing hand. "Sorry Akashi-kun!"

The other boy let out a soft huff, before releasing him and taking an elegant step back.

Kise frowned at him, lips jutting out petulantly as he rubbed some feelings back into his cheeks.

"Akashi-kun so mean!" he exclaimed; eyes bright with dramatic, unshed tears.

The genius just lifted a single eye brow at that. "What do you want Kise-kun?" he asked.

Stopping the gentle massage he was administering against his face, Kise pouted at his vice-captain. "I just wanted to know why everyone's so scared of you is all," he mumbled.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, people keep telling me to stay away from you and not to disturb you from your work and stuff, but I don't understand. If you're our vice-captain, shouldn't we come to you freely with any worries and troubles we might have concerning basketball?"

Akashi blinked. And then the corner of his lip twitched the tiniest bit, before he huffed in what Kise almost thought was laughter, before he clapped a firm hand across his mouth and turned away slightly.

"Akashi-kun?" Kise asked softly.

The redhead just waved his other hand at him dismissively, before finally turning back around, meeting Kise's confused face with a tiny smile.

'_Oh,_'Kise thought, dumbstruck. '_That's the first time I've seen Akashicchi smile, and it's directed at me?' _

Something warm bloomed in his chest, and he found himself returning the soft smile with a large one of his own.

Suddenly, Akashi's hand shut out again, and Kise instinctively flinched back. Afraid to find his face between that iron grip again, but instead those pale fingers came to rest gently atop of his head.

Kise's eyes widened, as the supposed to be scary captain lightly patted his head. A rather content look on his face. "You're not scared of me are you Kise-kun?" he asked, hand unmoving now, but fingers still resting comfortably atop of the taller boy's hair.

Kise pursed his lip in thought. "No?" he finally answered.

Akashi grinned at him then. Not a full-blown toothy smile, but just wide enough to show off his canine's. "Then you can come to me with anything, Kise-chan," he said. "I wouldn't mind listening to your troubles at all."

Freezing for the split second it took for him to absorb his vice-captain's words, Kise remained unmoving. Limbs locked in place as his teammate's words sank into his mind.

The second it dawned on him on him what that meant however, he was up and moving. Arms reaching out to glob the living daylight out of the shorter man.

Maybe he caught his vice-captain by surprise, maybe the other man didn't think he would actually do it, or maybe he didn't mind, but when Kise's arms came around to gently embrace the genius, Akashi didn't move away or push him aside. He just stood there and let the blonde hug him senseless. An unmistakable chuckle of amusement escaping his lips.

"They are all wrong about you Akashicchi!" Kise proclaimed loudly into Akashi's neck where his face was currently resting. "You're not scary at all! Not at all!"

Hugging his vice-captain close, Kise tried with all his might to convey this message across. Akashicchi wasn't scary, he shouldn't think he frightened all people if he didn't. Kise wanted him to know that he was kind and respectable and cool and awesome and everything in-between because he was!

A hand came to settle on his hair again. The unmistakable gentleness of Akashicchi surrounding Kise like a safety blanked. "You can count on me Kise-chan," the genius muttered next to his ear.

Kise nodded against his shoulder. "And you can count on me too Akashicchi!"

"I know."

Kise smiled. Akashicchi wasn't scary at all. He was actually really really kind, and Kise would gladly stay by his side forever.


	2. Chapter 2

"Do you think I'm fat Akashicchi?"

Akashi almost choked on his drink. "What?"

The tall teenager next to him fidgeted slightly in his seat under the tall oak tree. "Have I gained a bit of weight lately? Even just a little?"

Turning fully to face his friend, the basketball genius let his eyes linger on the blonde's distressed expression.

Something in his chest tugged painfully at that.

"Why do you ask?" he said evenly, taking a careful sip of his drink. Lunch momentarily forgotten.

Kise gave him a quick look, before everting his gaze, fingers twitching as he continued to pick on his food.

"I just have this photoshoot coming up in a couple of days, and well," here he shrugged helplessly. "They said I needed to watch my weight cuz its irregularity could cost them months of work, since they will have to readjust the cloths to my new, chubbier body size."

Akashi swallowed thickly; mouth suddenly dry. "Is that so?" he asked, voice barely coming out louder than whisper.

Kise nodded vigorously next to him. Bottom lip caught between his teeth, eyes darting this way and that.

Clenching his fists so tight the juice box in his grasp could have exploded if he exuded any more force, Akashi tried to control his breathing. Closing his eyes, he took a deep shuddering breath. In and out, he told himself. Calm down Akashi. It wouldn't do to scare Ryouta now. The innocent idiot was waiting for reassurances from his former captain, and Akashi would be damned if he didn't get this right.

Finally, having settled his burning rage into a low simmering hatred, he turned once more in the direction of his friend and smiled lightly at him.

Ryouta's shoulders immediately relaxed at the gentle expression, and Akashi gave himself a mental pat on the back. He still got it. The redhead had always been able to calm the blonde down with a single smile, and it was good to know Ryouta hadn't changed so much so that it didn't work on him anymore.

Now, to the next order of business.

"I don't think so Ryo-chan," he muttered, playfully poking the taller blond in the stomach, Kise squirmed away with an indignant squeak "Looks normal to me. In fact, you look even better than usual."

"Yeah?" Kise was looking at him with his big blue eyes now. Drinking in every word he was saying and taking his reassuring assessment as if it was a decree sent from above.

'_Someone is going to pay for this'_, Akashi thought, _ and _he was going to make sure the punishment was carried out accordingly.

"Yes Ryo-chan," he smiled. "You look perfectly normal to me. Most have been some sort of confusion between the staff. Maybe they were too exhausted or something. It hasn't happened before, right?"

Kise shook his head.

Well then, Akashi thought. Less people to hunt down.

"So, you have nothing to worry about then, idiot." Slapping him gently on the back of the head, he took the time the blonde was complaining to switch their lunch boxes. Handing the blonde his more extravagant and definitely more nutrition filled lunch. "I'll come with you tomorrow if you want someone to just stick around. I have nothing better to do that day anyways."

Kise's eyes immediately lit up at that. Lips curling infectiously at the corners into a broad, blinding smile. "That would be great Akashicchi! You can come see me hard at work!"

Akashi smiled, taking a bite out of Kise's cold food. "Then it's settled. I'll pick you up tomorrow and we can head over to your work and you can show me around your work place."

The copycat, basketball player nodded enthusiastically at that.

Patting Kise softly on the head, Akashi smiled innocently at him. "I'm interested in meeting the staff responsible for your next photoshoot after all."

Kise grinned back at him. "Sure thing Akashicchi. You'll love em!"

"I'm sure I will."


End file.
